Water heater



July 10, 1956 A. LEMOS, JR., EIAL WATER HEATER 3 Sheets-Sheet 1 Filed Feb. 5, 1954 3 Sheets$heet 2 IN V EN TORS ZZZZZQ.

July 10, 1956 A. LEMOS, JR, ETAL WATER HEATER Filed Feb. 5, 1954 July 10, 1956 Filed Feb. 3, 1954 A. LEMOS, JR., ET AL WATER HEATER 3 Sheets-Sheet 3 IN V EN TORS WATER HEATER Albert Lemos, Jr., Northbrook, Ill., and Richard Cunningham, Jr., Houston, Tex., assignors to Vapor Heating Corporation, Chicago, Ill., a corporation of Delaware Application February 3, 1954, Serial No. 407,928

8 Claims. (Cl. 122-410) The present invention relates to water heaters and the embodiment herein shown is designed as an improvement on the structure set forth in our United States Patent 2,638,878 granted May 19, 1953.

It is among the principal objects of the invention to provide, in a water heater of the general type shown in said patent, means for materially increasing the path of travel of the water over the heat exchange surfaces of the heater so that the thermal efficiency of the unit will be enhanced.

According to the invention, the main water heating chamber of a water heater of the above character is in the form of an elongated cylindrical annulus and in which the water flowing therethrough is caused to traverse the entire longitudinal extent of the cylindrical annulus despite the fact that the water inlet and water outlet connections therefor are located at the same end of the annulus. In this connection, novel means are positioned in the inner and outer water jackets for directing the flow of water longitudinally thereof, the baffles being secured to the elements of the water jackets in such manner as to preserve the patented structure which facilitates ready assembly and removal of its parts.

A preferred embodiment of the invention is shown in the accompanying drawings, wherein:

Fig. 1 is a longitudinal sectional view taken substantially centrally through a water heater or boiler constructed in accordance with the principles of the present invention and also through a blower for delivering combustion air into the boiler fire chamber. In this view certain other components of the structure are shown in elevation.

Fig. 2 is a left-hand end view of the structure shown in Fig. 1.

Fig. 3 is an end view taken substantially along the line 3-3 of Fig. 1 and illustrating the inner water jacket removed from the casing.

Fig. 4 is a fragmentary plan view of the structure adjacent the water outlet from the inner water chamber shown in Fig. l and taken on line 44 of Figure 3.

Fig. 5 is an enlarged fragmentary sectional view of the structure shown in Figs. 1 and 4, the device being taken substantially along the line 5-5 of Figs. 3 and 4.

Fig. 6 is' an enlarged sectional view taken substantially along the line 6-6 of Fig. l with certain parts being broken away to more clearly reveal the nature of the invention.

Fig. 7 is a sectional view taken substantially along the line 7-7 of Fig. 6; and

Fig. 8 is a fragmentary perspective view of the structure shown in Fig. 5, looking generally from the left and with the water inlet fitting removed to reveal certain internal structure.

Referring now to the drawings in detail and in particular to Fig. l, the water heater installation disclosed herein is generally similar to the water heater unit disclosed in our above mentioned prior patent. The principal components of the present illustrated unit include a Patented July 10, 1956 ice water heater or boiler per se which has been designated in its entirety at 10; an oil burner 12; an electric motor 14; a blower 15; a fuel pump 16; a magneto or other spark voltage generator 17, together with certain other components such as thermostats 9 and 13, a stack switch 8, an automatic damper control mechanism 11, and lesser components for controlling the operation of the burner. Many of these devices have been shown only in outline and are not specifically described since they are only remotely concerned with the present inmprovements.

The water heating unit or boiler 10 involves in its general organization an outer cylindrical shell 20 having disposed therein concentrically an inner cylindrical shell 21, the two shells forming therebetween a water preheating chamber 22 of annular configuration in cross-section as seen in Fig. 1. The chamber 22 constitutes an outer water jacket for the boiler and the component parts thereof may, conformably, be referred to herein as the outer water jacket assembly. End plates 23 and 24 and a dished header 25 welded to the shells serve to completely enclose the outer water jacket or preheating chamber 22 so that it is water tight except for inlet and outlet connections the nature of which will be made clear presently.

A main water heating chamber 39, hereinafter referred to as the inner water jacket, is disposed within the interior shell 21 and is concentric with the outer water jacket 22. The inner water jacket is of annular configuration in cross-section as seen in Fig. 5 and is comprised of inner and outer smooth wall tubular members 32 and 33 which are provided with complementary curved end flanges which are welded together in edge-to-edge relation as shown at 34 and 35.

A water inlet fitting or nipple 38 and a water outlet fitting or nipple 39 are welded to the left-hand end of the inner water jacket assembly and are in the form of tubular conduits which communicate with the interior of the inner water jacket 30 through tubular sleeves 40 and 41 welded to the end plate 23 and header 25 of the outer water jacket. Flanges 42 and 43 extend laterally from the fittings 38 and 39 respectively and bear against the inner endsv of the sleeves.

Feed water under pressure from any suitable source (not shown) is admitted to the outer water jacket 22 through an inlet port 45 in communication with a feed pipe 46 (Fig. 2) and is preheated in the chamber provided thereby, and is discharged from the chamber through an outlet port 47 from whence it passes through a conduit 58 to the inlet fitting 38 and enters the main water heating chamber or inner water jacket 30. The heated water emerges from the water jacket 30 and is conducted to its location of use. As will be described presently, means are provided for causing the water which has previously been preheated in the outer Water jacket or chamber 2?. and which has entered the inner water jacket or chamber 30 through the inlet fitting 38 to traverse the entire longitudinal extent of the inner water jacket 30 before being discharged through the outlet fitting 39 and also to traverse the circular extent of the said chamber 30 by flowing around the same on opposite sides of the inner shell or tubular member 32 through a full path. This means for increasing the path of flow of heating fluid through the inner water jacket 30 will be described in detail after certain other structural features of the boiler assembly have been set forth with sufiicient clarity to lend an understanding to the manner by means of which heat transference from the hot products of combustion to the inner and outer water jackets 30 and 22 respectively is accomplished.

The burner end of the boiler 10 includes a number of instrumentalities which are shown and described in detail in our prior patent mentioned above and which, since they are significant only in a general way to the present invention, will be described only briefly herein and their cooperative relationship established. Among these instrumentalities are the previously mentioned burner 12; its spray head 50 and electrodes 51; a firepot 52 which exists by virtue of a stabilizing cone 53, flame deflector cone 54, sheet metal casing 55, and end plate 56; air baffle 57; and header 58 which closes the end of the boiler lit and supports the spray head and fuel burner assembly. A discharge conduit 60 connects the blower with the space 61 existing between the haflle 57 and a tubular casing 62 which in effect constitutes a cylindrical extension of the tubular shell and thus incoming air strikes the baffle 57 tangentially and is caused to follow a vortex path and enter the firepot 52 through the stabilizing cone 53 with a whirling motion which is continued through the firepot 52 and maintained in the central heat transfer chamber 63 within the inner tubular casing or shell 32.

Still referring to Fig. l, in order to augment the transfer of heat from the hot products of combustion issuing from the firepot 52 to the water within the inner water jacket 3%, means are provided for increasing the surface areas of the tubular members 32 and 33, this means likewise being shown and described in our prior patent. Briefly this means comprises a group of thermally conductive steel rings 64 which are welded continuously at their inner peripheries to the outside surface of the tube 33 and a second group of similar rings 65 which are welded at their outer peripheries to the inner surface of the tube 32. The rings 64 each present a continuous series of outwardly projecting, circumferentially spaced, teeth-like protuberances 64a (Fig. 3) and the rings 65 each present a continuous series of inwardly projecting, similar circumferentially spaced teeth-like protuberances 65a. The teeth 64a on adjacent rings 64 are staggered and the teeth 65:: on adjacent rings 65 are likewise staggered. This staggering of the teeth 64a and 65a has the effect of creating a type of turbulence which materially increases the heat transfer characteristics of the tubes 32 and 33 as set forth in our prior patent.

The products of combustion move from right to left as viewed in Fig. l and travel the entire length of the chamber 63 and then enter the left-hand end of the annular passage 66 and proceed therealong in the opposite direction to a flue 67 (see also Fig. 2). The partially cooled gaseous products of combustion traversing the passage 66 give up a portion of their heat to the water in the inner water jacket 3% and a further portion to the cold water in the outer water jacket 22 and, by the time they reach the flue 67 the temperature thereof has dropped to a relatively low degree so that little heat is lost.

The arrangement of parts thus far described forms the subject matter of our prior patent, above referred to, and no claim is made herein to any novelty associated therewith, the present invention residing rather in the novel constructions, combinations and arrangements for increasing the path of flow of the water through the inner and outer water jacket of the heater.

Referring now to Figs. 4 and 7, an elongated collector conduit 70 extends from the water outlet fitting or nipple 39 longitudinally along the top of the inner tubular shell 32 within the inner water jacket 30 to a point adjacent the right-hand end of the latter as viewed in Fig. 4 and terminates short of the extreme end of the water jacket. This collector conduit 70 is in the form of a channel member which is U-shaped in cross-section and which has parallel side walls connected by a bridge or base portion 73. The longitudinal edges of said side Walls are welded to the element 32 of the inner water jacket before the outer member 33 of the water jacket is applied in its position and welded along the seam 34. The left-hand end of the collector conduit 70 is slightly offset upwardly as indicated at 75, thus providing an inclined interconnecting shoulder (see Fig. 5). The offset portion 75 is given a slight curvature as indicated in Fig. 8 when 4 viewed from the end of the conduit, the curvature conforming to the curvature of the wall of the cylindrical shell 33.

When the shell 33 0f the inner water jacket is placed in position to be welded to the shell 32 along the seam 34, the offset portion of the collector 70 projects through an irregular shaped opening 76 (Fig. 8) and is welded to the edges thereof along the lines designated d, e and 1 shown in Fig. 8 at 77 and 73. The curved edges b and c of the collector 76 are welded to the shell 32 by means of the welds 80.

As seen in Figs. 1 and 5, the depth of the side walls of the channel shaped conduit 70 is substantially equal to the radial distance between the shell walls 32 and 33 so that the collector conduit 70, when installed within the inner water jacket 3t), provides in combination with the outer surface of the inner shell 32 a flow conduit or passageway 81 of rectangular cross-section which extends from a region adjacent the right-hand end of the water jacket 30 to the left-hand end thereof and which is in sealed communication with the irregular shaped opening 76.

The outlet fitting or nipple 39 has its inner end in sealed communication with the passageway 81 and, toward this end, its inner edge is welded as at 82 to the forward edge 83 (Figs. 5 and 7) of the offset bridge portion 75 of the conduit 70. The remaining portions of the inner edge of the fitting 39 are welded co-extensively to the edges of the opening 76 as shown at 84 in Figs. 1 and 5. a

From the above description it will be seen that the preheated water which enters the water jacket 39 through the inlet fitting or nipple 38 is obliged to flow along the entire length of the water jacket since it can find its way to the outlet fitting 39 only by entering the end 86 (Fig. l) of the collector conduit 7 0. The conduit 70 may thus be said to seal olf the water outlet of the inner water jacket so that it will draw or receive water only from the remote end of the inner water jacket.

To prevent short circuiting of water from the inlet port 45 of the outer water jacket or chamber 22 directly to the outlet port 47 and to thus lengthen the path that water is obliged to follow through the outer water jacket or chamber 22, a pair of diametrically opposed, longitudinally extending baffles 90 and 91 (Figs. 1, 6 and 7) are disposed in the water jacket 22. These baffles 90 and 91, in the position assumed by the boiler 10 in Fig. l, are horizontally disposed and divide the chamber 22 into upper and lower semi-annular compartments. The two baffles are complementary in shape and each comprises two sections including an elongated strip of sheet material 92 of trapezoidal shape which extends from the rim of the shell 21 (Fig. 7) to a region adjacent the burner end of the boiler 10. The inner edge of the strip 92 is welded as at 93 co-extensively to the outer surface of the shell 21.

The diagonal edge of the strip 92 substantially meets a similar diagonal edge 95 of a generally triangular piece 96 at the left-hand end of the water jacket 22 and the piece 96 also constitutes a component part of the baflle assembly 90 or 91 as the case may be. The triangular piece 96 has its inner edge welded as at 97 to the inner face of the end plate 25 along a generally radial line.

From the above description it will be seen that by the provision of the baffle assemblies 90 and 91, water is caused to flow from inlet 45 to the right as viewed in Fig. l substantially longitudinally through the chamber 22 and pass around the extreme ends 99 of these members and then reverse its direction and flow again across the chamber to the left before it can enter the water outlet 47. The water is thus caused to proceed from the water inlet 45 directly to a region of the water jacket near the burner end of the boiler Where a high temperature differential prevails.

We claim:

1. In a boiler structure of the character described, a cylindrical water jacket comprising concentrically arranged tubular sections, the inner section of which defines the side wall of a cylindrical heat exchange chamber through which hot gases of combustion are adapted to be passed, said sections being substantially co-extensive and defining therebetween a water jacket which is annular in cross-section, water inlet and Water outlet fittings extending into said water chamber in sealed relationship with respect to the walls thereof at the same end of the chamber and providing respectively a Water inlet and a water outlet for the water chamber, and a conduit member of U-shaped cross-section disposed within said water chamher in sealed communication with the said water outlet fitting and with the longitudinal edges of the side flanges of the conduit member bonded to the inner tubular section and forming in combination with the wall of said inner tubular section an elongated water passageway extending from said water outlet fitting longitudinally through the water chamber to a region adjacent the end thereof remote from said fittings, whereby water is conducted from the last mentioned end of the water chamber through said elongated passage to said water outlet.

2. In a boiler structure of the character described, a cylindrical water jacket comprising concentrically arranged tubular sections, the inner section of which defines the side wall of a cylindrical heat exchange chamber through which hot gases of combustion are adapted to be passed, said sections being substantially co-extensive and defining therebetween a water chamber which is annular in cross-section, means sealing the adjacent ends of said tubular sections together co-extensively, water inlet and water outlet fittings extending into said chamber in sealed relation with respect to the walls thereof at the same end of the water jacket and providing respectively a water inlet and a water outlet for the chamber, and a conduit disposed Within said chamber in sealed communication with one of said fittings, said conduit extending longitudinally through said chamber to a region adjacent the end thereof remote from the fitting with which it is in communication, said conduit defining with the wall of said inner tubular section an elongated passage for flow of water therethrough.

3. A boiler structure as defined in claim 2 characterized in that one end of said U-shaped collector is oifset adjacent the outlet fitting and the adjacent end of the outer shell is formed with an opening to receive said offset portion and further characterized in that the said collector is secured to the outer shell only adjacent said offset portion, whereby the collector is free to expand and contract lengthwise independently of said outer shell.

4. A boiler structure as defined in claim 3 characterized in that said U-shaped member is metallically united with both outer and inner shells only at the end adjacent the outlet fitting.

5. A boiler structure as defined in claim 4 characterized in that the outlet fitting is metallically bonded to parts of the inner and outer shells of said inner water jacket and to a portion of said ofiset end portion of said U-shaped member.

6. In a boiler structure of the character described, an inner cylindrical water jacket comprising concentrically arranged tubular sections the inner section of which defines the side wall of a cylindrical heat exchange chamber through which hot gases of combustion are adapted to be passed in one direction, an outer cylindrical water jacket concentric with said inner jacket and spaced therefrom, said outer jacket comprising concentrically arranged tubular sections the inner section of which, in combination with the outer section of the inner jacket, defines an annular heat exchange chamber through which said gases are adapted to be passed in the opposite direction, means providing a water inlet and a water outlet for said inner water jacket at one end thereof, means providing a water inlet and a water outlet for said outer water jacket at the end thereof adjacent the inlet and outlet of said inner water jacket, means establishing fluid communication between the inlet for the inner water jacket and the outlet for the outer water jacket, an elongated linear collector conduit disposed within said inner Water jacket and in sealed communication with the water outlet thereof, said conduit extending longitudinally through said inner water jacket to a region adjacent the end thereof remote from said outlet, and a pair of radially extending bafiles disposed in said outer water jacket, said baffles dividing the outer water jacket into two flow compartments one of which is in communication with its water inlet and the other of which is in communication with its water outlet, said baflles each extending across the outer water jacket from the end thereof adjacent said Water inlet and water outlet to a region adjacent the other end of the outer water jacket.

7. A boiler structure as defined in claim 6 characterized by the provision of radially extending vanes at the inlet and outlet end portions of the outer jacket and extending radially outwardly from a region adjacent the horizontal axis of the said jacket.

8. A boiler structure as defined in claim 7 characterized in that the adjacent ends of the horizontal and radial vanes are arranged in spaced relation to each other.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 953,147 Kenmonth Mar. 29, 1910 1,103,830 Preinsler July 14, 1914 1,648,043 Dahlquist Nov. 8, 1927 1,847,431 Hanna Mar. 1, 1932 1,920,124 Gillis July 25, 1933 2,211,544 McDonnell Aug. 13, 1940 2,608,956 Rydberg Sept. 2, 1952 

